THE SCIENCE OF INNOVATION

At BC Hydro, we’re always looking for smarter ways to maintain a reliable system and deliver clean, affordable electricity.

We want to be the most trusted, innovative utility in North America, and leading the way in our efforts to achieve that lofty goal is our own world-renowned testing and research laboratory, Powertech Labs.

A wholly owned subsidiary of BC Hydro, Powertech Labs is made up of about 200 scientists, technicians, engineers, and specialists. They pool their efforts and expertise to support electrical utilities, original equipment manufacturers, and the automotive industries.

“It is difficult to dismiss the innovations coming out of Powertech. It is a large lab of approximately 200 experts in their own field who understand the utility business. This expertise is used to bring changes into the marketplace”, says Lings, President & CEO of Powertech Labs.

In the utility realm, Powertech works on a range of innovations—from how we generate electricity, to how it’s used by our customers.

The brochure below celebrates innovation—our homegrown ingenuity and its impact on the broader world. By necessity, it’s a catalog of “firsts”—ground-breaking research that has changed the way we operate, and solutions that have been adopted by utilities around the globe.

Equally important is that these innovations have provided value for our customers and our employees. It’s a value measured in avoided costs, productivity gains, extension of the service life of facilities, enhanced performance, optimized maintenance, and energy efficiency.

The new tools profiled here have made their mark in the real world. They’ve made utility field work safer, ensured the reliability of grid operations, and cut the costs of energy delivery. And they’ve reduced environmental impacts while allowing customers to use electricity more efficiently and conveniently.